Ipex organisers expect Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Indigo and Barco's merger with Purup-Eskofot to "add to the atmosphere of expectation" at next year's show.

"They will make for heightened competition in already very active sectors," said IIR marketing director Ashley Whitworth.

He said it was too early to gauge the full implications of the announcements, made at Print 01 in Chicago this month, but that initial discussions on their impact on Ipex had been "very positive".

"Mergers are a part of commercial life and exhibitions tend to be the launch platform for any major announcement," said Whitworth.

"The run-up to Ipex 98 was full of major mergers and all helped make the exhibition the best to date."
Those mergers included the formation of Kodak Polychrome Graphics by combining Sun Chemical's Polychrome with Kodak's graphic arts division, which took place in October 1997.

Pre-press occupies halls 4 and 5 of the NEC, while digital is housed in 3 and 3a.

The marketing campaign to promote next year's
show has reached 150 countries, and Whitworth said it had been developed to "educate the market into understanding the importance of Ipex to the global marketplace".

Ipex has commissioned specific sector analyses to provide exhibitors and visitors alike with as much information as possible.